IND v SA 2019: Virat Kohli praises efforts of Shami and Jadeja; gives his thoughts on new SG balls

Virat Kohli registered his 29th Test win as captain.

Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal | AFPVirat Kohli led India to yet another victory in the ongoing ICC Test Championship as the home side defeated South Africa by 203 runs in the first Test at Vizag. This was his 29th win as captain of India in his 49th outing.

Chasing 395 to win, South Africa found themselves in trouble at 70/8 after Jadeja picked three wickets in an over. After Dane Piedt made 56 and Senuran Muthusamy made 49*, South Africa managed to put on 191 runs, before Shami conducted the final rites and completed his five-wicket haul as well.

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This was a dominant victory from the Indian side and skipper Virat Kohli was extremely happy with the performance of his bowlers, especially Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammad Shami and has praise for them in the post-match presentation.

The wicket played really good for the first three days. We lost a session. When you put 500 on the board, you're always ahead. Even with the fight they showed, we still had a lead. Rohit was outstanding. Mayank brilliant. It was a hard grind because of the conditions, especially the weather conditions. And the pitch slowed down too. It's all about the attitude,” Kohli said about the initial first innings. R Ashwin completed 350 Test wickets in 66 matches | AP

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R Ashwin made a triumphant comeback into the Indian team picking 8 wickets in the match including 7/145 in the first innings and became the joint-fastest bowler to 350 Test wickets in just 66 matches, a record he shared with Muttiah Muralitharan.

Talking about the bowling effort put by Indian bowlers, Kohli mentioned, “Jaddu and Ash again, really good. The pitch was flat, they got a few boundaries away. Always knew it was going to be a second innings pitch. Shami has been a strike bowler in the second innings. All the guys lived up to their strengths. Batting heroes were obvious. But bowlers had it tougher in this game.

Mohammad Shami picked 5/35 | AFPHe further added, “If fast bowlers are going to think that spinners are going to do all the work, then it doesn't justify their place. They ask for shorter spells so they can give 100%. That's when you see guys like Shami, Ishant, Jasprit, and Umesh as well doing well. It's all about wanting to make a play for the team even in conditions that are difficult.”

When asked about the newer SG balls, which are much harder than the last time, Kohli seemed happy and said, “This lot of SG balls is much better than the last one. If it softens up, there's literally nothing happening after 40-45 overs. Will still like it to be harder till about 60 overs."

(Cricbuzz.com inputs)

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 06 Oct, 2019

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